Turns out, I actually embibed stuff this week.
No, I don't mean all the birthday scotch, though . . . thanks for that too . . . no I mean I read things and listened to things and watched things worth actually reviewing.
So lets just fire away:
Week in TV:
Joann found our DVD copy of Planet Earth (Yes, of course the David Attenborough version, I love Sigorney Weaver just as much as any red blooded American should, but voice overs and Jane Austen adaptations should always remain in the hands of the English). Morgan Freeman is the exception to the rule. Which . . . I think is something that follows his name more often than any of us would suppose.
If you haven't seen Panet Earth, I feel sad for you. It's like never having been to Disneyland or experiencing a foot-rub. It is awesome in the true sense of the word, as in, awe inspiring, will leave you in awe, like totally. If you don't have either the DVDs yourself or, god forbid, a high definition television on which to watch it, you are welcome to come over.
Bring beer and nachos.
This Week in Music:
A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, and a little bit Sarah Mclachlan. I had a show where I was asked to play some country. I didn't know any country, so I played Beatles instead. The United Kingdom is a coutry too, right? Anyway, I wanted to add something to the rep. (short for repertoire) and put out a call for suggestions.
None of you were helpful. ('cept Shelia, Thank-You)
I may learn Folsom Prison Blues just because I live so close.
I may also do a smash-up of Billy Ray Cyrus and Leonard Cohen. "She tied you to her kitchen chair, she broke your thrown, she cut your hair, but she won't break your heart, your achey breaky heart.
I still haven't decided.
Anyway, I was reminded that I actually knew a country cover song, Racall Flatts' Broken Road that I performed for a friend's wedding last year, so I got that going for me.
I was also asked to do a Ryan Adam's cover, but he's most famous for doing a cover of 'Wonderwall' the version of which is almost as taboo in singer/songwriter circles as 'Hallelujah'. I did find a very nice country-esque song of his that was very simple, so two birds, one stone.
Then we get to Sarah. Oh Sarah. Her new album "Shine On" is very pretty. She has a sound, that I'd want to say is so impossible to get away from, I actually found myself a little irritated at the fuzz tone 'Avril Lavigne-Light' song that popped up near the end, but there is no such thing as a sound that is impossible to get away from. I want her to do the whole thing again, but this time accompanied by a guy with a Fender Mustang, a tube amp with a blown speaker, and a drummer who hasn't changed his heads since the Clinton administration, and I want her to chain smoke through the whole session.
Just cause.
I would pay retail price for that.
Lets make it happen.
This Week in Books:
I got a text from my wife asking me to send her a list of books I might want. I sent her the list and hour later and she did not disappoint. I knew she was at our favorite used bookstore so I sent her a list of old books that I hadn't ever found or stuff that I had loaned out and/or given away.
Vonnegut's Slapstick: Its an older one of his, very short, less than two hunderd pages. I finished it in an afternoon. There's a lot of stuff in it, but there is a thru line where every human gets a new middle name, randomly generated and the idea is that people with the same middle name are now part of an extended clan, in an effort to bring humanity closer together.
It's poignant because there's a recent push to get everyone to update their geneology online in order to have a Great Big Family Reunion in NY next summer. Same premise, same language, Vonnegut just hadn't experienced the internet yet.
Bill Bryson's "English and How it Got that Way."
I'm fascinated with etymology. This book is in-depth, funny, and for geeks only.
Lastly;
ALL THE SONGS: The Complete Guide to Every Beatles' Recording.
This breaks down the genisis of each song, how it was produced and how it was recorded. It is a two inch thick, coffee table book, weighing almost as much as my son does. I finished it this morning. And now I have to go back through it again and pick out all the recordings an out takes that I don't currently have in my library.
So much for next week.
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